Tingle Must Die
by LAKetch
Summary: When Tingle steals the Fairy Queen's power and transports characters from across Legend of Zelda lore to a world of his own making, it's up to an unlikely band of allies to stop him at any cost and find a way back to their own realms.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first sensation I noticed was the pounding in my head. An intense pressure, and the thud of my heartbeat drowning out all other noise around me.

I thought I was dreaming. You know that dream you have, when you're lying down, but no matter how hard you try, you can't move your arms or legs?

No?

Well, maybe it's just me.

But, all of that just to say - I couldn't move. I couldn't even open my eyes, I was just a consciousness, floating there. A consciousness with a horrible, terrible headache.

Eventually, though, the pounding in my ears began to subside. I could feel it fading, its grip on my head loosening.

And then, abruptly, it vanished. The sound, the headache, all of it. It was gone.

And, without even opening my eyes, I knew I was in trouble.

The air was the first thing that alerted me, cold and stale and nothing like the air I was used to smelling at home. Then, there was the hard surface I was lying on, despite distinctly remembering having gone to sleep in my own bed just hours before.

At least, it felt like hours before.

I wished I was still dreaming. Wouldn't everything have been easier if I was still dreaming? But I'd never had difficulty distinguishing dream from reality. Even while dreaming, I had always known I was dreaming.

But this? This I knew was reality.

I opened my eyes and saw a dark ceiling above me. It was foreign to me, with its dark wood paneling, not at all like any of the buildings I'd seen back home. Rubbing my eyes, I turned my head to the side and found a large, open room stretching out before me. It was more elegant than I expected, for such a cold, stale smelling place, the wood trim on the walls smooth and intricately carved. A wide staircase sat in the center of the room, leading up to a second floor I couldn't see from my spot on the ground.

I pushed myself up, pleased to find all my limbs still attached and in working order. My head, while pain-free, felt a little woozy, but I shook it off as I took a few steps toward the stairs.

Two green doors sat at the top of the landing on the second floor, gold filigree swirling out from the handles toward the hinges. A shiver went down my spine.

There were some serious bad vibes coming from those doors.

Taking a step back, I turned, looking around the room again. On the far side, across the room from where I had woken up, there were two more doors. But these were different - glass, providing a view into whatever world awaited for me outside. I ran to them, hoping, at the very least, for the twilight sky I was accustomed to.

But it wasn't twilight. The sky was completely dark, and rain came down in a deluge in the courtyard before me. Even this close, I couldn't hear the sound of the rain outside, or the thunder that must have surely accompanied the lightning strikes which lit up the sky. That was worrisome. More worrisome was that, as much as I strained my eyes, looking off in the distance, I couldn't see anything beyond the trees and bushes of the courtyard. A feeling of claustrophobia washing over me, I gripped the door handle, hoping for a miracle.

Imagine my surprise, then, when it opened with ease.

The sound of rain was like relief to my ears, interrupting the noiselessness of the room I woke up in. I stepped outside, underneath an awning, and continued into the pouring rain. The rain grew heavier with every passing step, until I couldn't see even a few feet in front of me. Finding my way away from this place, to any sort of shelter, would have been impossible.

Taking a breath, I turned back toward the building, unprepared for what I would see. I'd been in my share of large buildings over the years, but this place, it towered over me. It reached up into the thundering clouds up above, its top hidden from my sight.

What _was _this place?

And what were my options? Already I was beginning to feel chilled, no doubt hypothermia would begin to set in if I spent too much time in this rain. Shelter was a necessity. Which meant I had two choices.

Wait under the awning until the weather cleared.

Or go back inside.

Grumbling as I walked back toward the building, I was almost back under the awning when I heard something. At least, I thought I heard something.. Then I heard it again, a faint thud, somewhere up above me.

I took a few steps backward, shielding my eyes from the rain as I looked up toward the floors above me. There were hundreds of windows up there, some lit up, others dark. The thud was coming from somewhere up there.

Figuring the strange noise good incentive not to reenter the building, I started again toward the awning, when I heard a new noise.

Glass breaking. And a scream.

There was a girl, a girl falling from the building, yards away from me and twenty stories, at least, above me. I ran toward her, and watched as another figure fell from the window.

Or, rather, flew from the window?

He caught the girl mid-fall and hovered there for a few moments, his wings beating under the force of the rain coming down. There was some shared glance between the him and the girl - relief, perhaps, that he'd been able to catch her. I sighed, glad to see them safe, and glad to know that I was not alone here in mysterious place.

Just then there was a pop from the window where they'd fallen, one, two, then two more. And with that last pop, I heard the bird-man yell out, and the two began to fall again. I ran toward them, their descent growing ever faster. One of my feet slipped out from under me, and I used my hands to keep barely upright, before reaching out to create a portal underneath them. It materialized just in time, and they fell through, the girl's cries vanishing at once. Throwing another portal over the bushes nearby, they tumbled out, landing in a pile of wet leaves and branches. I heard voices coming from the broken window up above, unintelligible at this distance, but it wasn't difficult to tell they weren't happy. I ran to the bush.

"Come on, you two," I said, pulling on the girl's arm. She looked a little dazed. "We need to get you to shelter."

The girl's eyes locked on to mine, focused, and she tilted her head, before turning her attention to the bird-man she was sitting on top of. She reached over and began pulling on the collar of his tunic.

"Quill, she's right, we need to go."

He shook his head, wincing as he moved his winged arm, and finally lifted his head. Wariness washed over his expression when he saw me standing next to him, but he nodded nonetheless.

"You might have to help me up," he said, taking notice of the branches around him.

I took the girl under her arms and lifted her off of the bird-man - Quill, I supposed. She was much lighter than I expected, no more than thirty pounds, and I set her on the ground next me. Together, we helped clear the branches away, both of us casting glances up toward the window above as we worked, in case of any other signs of trouble. Quill sat up once he was able, and I put his arm around my shoulder and helped him from the bush. He was a little wobbly once on his feet, having taken the brunt of the fall.

"Can you walk?" I asked him. He looked down, doing his best to steady himself.

"Just help me back to the tower."

"You want to go back inside?" I asked, incredulous. The girl rounded behind both of us and tried her best to push us forward.

"We have to go back inside!" she said, nearly buckling my knees under the surprising force of her push.

"All right, all right, we'll go," I said. The girl ran out in front of us, motioning for us to follow all the while. Quill and I made our way forward slowly, one step after another. Still the voices murmured from up above, unhappy, but no more pops rang out.

The girl opened the door for us as we neared the awning and we shuffled inside. With no other places to sit in the room, I helped Quill ease onto the steps of the wide staircase. It was only once I took a step back that I noticed the blood streaming down his white wing.

"Quill, your wing!" the girl said, racing toward him. She bounded up the step and touched his arm, only to draw her hand away once she realized what was wrong.

"They shot you!"

I tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of my tunic and knelt in front of the pair. "Can you hold out your arm?" I asked Quill. "I can tie off the bleeding."

Grimacing, Quill nodded, and the girl helped him extend his arm. I had to part through his feathers to find the wound. It was a graze - a deep one, albeit - but one that shouldn't have any difficulty healing. But the size of the wound was most surprised me, far smaller than any arrowheads I was used to seeing.

"Just what was it that shot you?" I asked as I wrapped the strip around his wound. The girl rolled her eyes, while Quill took a deep breath.

"There are some unusual weapons on the higher floors," he said, not wishing to elaborate.

"The weapons aren't anything compared to the floors themselves," the girl muttered as she watched me wrap Quill's arm. She had an interesting look I hadn't noticed while outside in the rain, her hair and skin both a vibrant shade of blue. Her wide eyes, contrastingly, were a rather dull shade of brown.

"Do either of you know where we are?" I asked as I knotted the fabric. "What's going on?"

Quill and the girl stared at me, before looking at one another.

"She doesn't know?" Quill said. The girl looked at me, studying my face.

"How could she not know?" she asked.

"Some of the other realms didn't show up until a few days ago." Quill said as he examined the fabric surrounding his arm. "Maybe she's from even further out."

"Uh…" I said, holding up a finger. "Would one of you tell me what's going on?"

The two turned toward me, the girl's face becoming more grave as seconds passed.

"Tingle stole my power, and we're trapped here until I can get it back."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I'm going to need a little more to go on than that," I said, not having heard much after the oddity that was the name "Tingle". The girl cocked an eyebrow and ascended halfway up the stairs, purposefully making herself taller than Quill or myself. Despite her short stature, she appeared as if she was used to looking down at other people.

"I," she said, her voice more regal than I had noticed earlier, "am the Fairy Queen. I rule over the Great Fairies, and together we have aided the Heroes in their fight against evil for centuries."

"If that was supposed to make things more clear for me... it didn't," I said, the mention of Great Fairies and Heroes a little much to sort through. The girl, or Fairy Queen (although, honestly, what a mouthful of a name), hung her head and sighed, while Quill leaned back, looking toward her.

"She might be from one of the eras where you were less involved. Which means a greater possibility of her not knowing about Tingle either."

The girl frowned, not wanting to believe his words. "You're sure you haven't heard of me?" she asked, her voice hopeful. "Fire and Ice Arrows ring a bell, perhaps?"

I raised my hands and shrugged, and the girl sighed.

"Fine," she said as sunk down onto the step beneath her, resting her head in her hand. She blew away a few of the wet blue hairs which had fallen in front of her eyes, looking quite depressed all the while. I eyed Quill, who used his good arm to block his mouth from the girl's line of sight.

"Without her powers, Fair's been having a bit of an identity crisis, I'm afraid."

"I'm not deaf, Quill!" she shouted, outstretching her hand as if she would have sent some form of magic his way if she was able. When nothing came, she pounded her fist on the step next to her and resumed sulking. Quill smirked, and looked up toward me, raising his brow as he did so.

"Who are you, then?"

I smiled. "Midna."

Quill opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted before he was able.

"Midna?" Her sullenness disappearing in an instant, the girl - Fairy Queen - Fair, whatever you want to call her, bounded down the steps.

"You're the princess of the Twili," she said, much to my surprise. When I nodded in response, Quill looked at Fair, confused.

"So you've heard of her?"

Fair smiled wide. "She's from a parallel time. The same one as those Termina girls, I'm fairly sure - just generations later. She's never seen a sea as wide as ours."

I tapped my hand on my hip, growing impatient. "Let's get back to our original topic of conversation, shall we? You're the Fairy Queen," I said, pointing toward Fair, "and some person named Tingle stole your power. And, what? Brought us all here? Why?" Quill shook his head, exasperated, while Fair leaned back against the stair bannister.

"Tingle has two obsessions," she said, crossing her arms as she spoke. "Fairies, obviously, are one. Across the centuries he's wanted nothing more than to become a "fairy". Of course, I didn't know that becoming a fairy would mean stealing my power…" she trailed off, her fists balled up in anger, knuckles growing ever paler.

Then Quill coughed, and she blinked a few times, a sheepish look coming to her face.

"The entire ordeal has been a little distressing."

Yeah, I'd picked up on that.

"You said he had two obsessions," I said, her face lighting up as I spoke. She pointed at me.

"Yes, yes. His second obsession, and the reason why everyone other than myself is here, is the Hero of Time."

And then my mind stopped working for a moment.

"Or Winds," Quill said, his voice jovial. Fair nodded. All the while, I was trying to put thoughts together in my head and form basic sentences.

"Wait. Link? Link's here? And it's his fault?" I managed, still reeling.

Quill shrugged, while Fair leaned her head back and forth, considering the question.

"This place, this tower - try to understand - this is a world Tingle created with my power. And he wanted all of his friends here with him in this world. That meant the fairies, and it meant Link. All of them."

"All the fairies and Link?" I asked. She shook her head.

"All the fairies and all the Links. You see, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage has appeared any time the safety of Hyrule was threatened. Across time and across realities. And Tingle wanted all of them here."

I lowered myself onto the floor, legs sprawled out in front of me. This was a little much to take in.

"And what about the rest of us?" I asked. "Why are Quill and I here?"

Quill snorted. "Apparently, Tingle isn't very adept at using Fair's powers."

"You can say that again," Fair said, glowering. Quill smirked at her scowl, and continued.

"His misuse of the fairy power inadvertently brought over many of the people the Links have met during their journeys. Those who were further out - like you, for instance - only took a little longer to arrive."

I gulped. Even having all the facts, wrapping my mind around the truth was proving to be difficult.

"So, let me make sure I understand this properly," I said, pushing myself up off the ground. "We've all been snatched out of our homes, out of our times, because some fairy-obsessed madman had no idea how to properly use magic?"

Fair peered over at Quill, grinning all the while, and then looked at me.

"That's exactly right. Now, what are you going to do about it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Was your taking the time to tell me all this just so I would help you in getting your power back?"

Fair sighed. "You don't what it's like up there!" she said, pointing toward the towering green doors above her. "It's not just multiple Links. It's multiple Zeldas and Malons and Sages and companions. And enemies! Vaati's here. You've never met him, but he's a joy. Ghirahim too. And all of them are thinking they've known one another or loved one another or fought one another, but then they find out it's a Link or a Zelda or someone else from a different time. And everyone's confused and angry, and trying to figure out what's going on but refusing to listen to the girl who actually knows what happened…"

I could see the veins beginning to bulge in her forehead. Not good. Quill took his arm and placed it around her shoulders, settling her. She set next to him on the step, content to take a few minutes to calm herself.

"It isn't just the people either," Quill said, his voice far more even. "The rooms Tingle's made in this tower...they defy explanation. I think some of the people trapped here don't even realize they're rooms, they think they're individual worlds, and don't know how to move on up."

"Up?" I repeated, curious. "Do you think Tingle's at the top?"

Fair nodded from under Quill's wing. "Tingle comes and goes in various rooms at various times, but I think he spends the majority of his time on the top floor. We were trying to make our way there when we were knocked out of that stupid window," she said, looking a little more emotional than she preferred.

I knelt down in front of them both, trying for my most reassuring face.

"Well, I have a kingdom to get back to, so whatever I can do to get rid of this Tingle guy, I'll do it happily." Fair's face brightened a little, and Quill smiled, probably thankful for any help. "And surely there will be other people who can help us." I said, my thoughts drifting to Link. Or, rather, the Link I knew. Even if it had been years since I'd seen him, surely he'd want to help.

"We'll need to do a better job of not drawing attention to ourselves," Quill said, using the bannister to help himself up. Fair stood too, squeezing water from her clothes as she did so. The trickle only added to the formidable puddle which had formed beneath them.

"Should we find a way to dry our clothes before proceeding?" I asked as the pair began to ascend the stairs. Fair looked over her shoulder, grinning as she did so.

"Come along, Midna. I think you'll find it's not necessary."

Frowning, I followed them up the stairs, intrigued as to what would be awaiting us on the other side of the massive green doors. With an amused glance between one another, Quill and Fair each took one of the door handles in hand and opened them in unison. Immediately, a gust of hot, dry air gusted through, sapping much of the moisture out of my clothes. I stepped over the threshold…

...and found myself looking at golden sand and blue sky as far as I could see.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was a desert.

We were in a desert.

It wasn't like the deserts I'd seen before, though. There were no dunes or valleys. Everything was flat, and stretched out toward the horizon.

"Is that doorway a portal?" I asked, shocked. I typically knew when I'd been through one - there's always at least a split second of travel time between entering and exiting. But this had seemed instantaneous. I heard the doors creak shut behind me, and turned to find Quill and Fair standing there, the green doors a strange sight in this environment. Quill appeared amused by my reaction, while Fair looked as if she'd already had enough of the heat. She fanned herself with her hand.

"Quill can answer your questions while we walk toward town. How's that?" she said, before heading off to her left. Far off in the distance, in front of her, I could make out several lonely structures in the midst of all the sand.

Quill smirked, shaking his head as he watched Fair march toward the town, and then held out his good arm, motioning for me to accompany him.

"As far as we can tell," he said, taking a moment to look back at the green doors as he spoke, "it's less that those are portals, and more that we're in some magic-induced haze. It's easier to tell on some of the floors, but walk far enough, and you'll find the walls and windows."

"Where's the door to the third floor?" I asked, my attention momentarily caught by a tangle of straw and weeds, tumbling across the path in front of us. How curious.

"That's the important question on every floor," Quill said. "They're not always easily found. And the people surrounding them aren't necessarily the friendliest." He touched the wrap around his wound, adjusting it as he spoke. He had a wary look in his eye, defensive almost. Considering his injury, he had some reason to be.

"Don't worry, you have the great and powerful Midna on your side," I said, despite having no idea how my abilities would compare with the other people trapped in the tower. But I didn't want Quill to worry. "I'll help you and Fair take out Tingle like _that_," I said, snapping my fingers. Quill looked as if he could tell I was acting extra-confident for his sake, but smiled thankfully nonetheless.

"Well, Fair and I both appreciate the help."

Speaking of Fair, she must have thought that Quill and I had fallen too far behind while conversing, because she ran up to us and grabbed our arms, pulling us forward.

"It's too hot. Come on, both of you," she said, forcing us forward and into the town.

Although, "town" might have been too grand of a word. It consisted of two rows of wooden buildings on either side of the same road, stretching only a hundred yards or so. Many of the structures looked as if they had been uninhabited for decades, all boarded up and broken down.

"How long have some of you been here?" I asked, mystified.

Fair rolled her eyes. "I was the first here, and I've only been around for a few months." She looked at one particular storefront as we passed by, its roof entirely collapsed.

"One thing I will say about Tingle," she said, "he does have an eye for detail."

I continued looking at the storefront for a few moments, the shadows created inside odd, for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on. But Fair pulled me on before I could give it too much thought.

It wasn't just the town itself which surprised me, though. It was the people who looked as if they were living in the town. There was a variety - a few Hylians, a few humans, and Gorons in _droves_. They milled about, from building to building, hardly taking notice of us as we passed by. I specifically heard one remark what a beautiful day it was. I leaned over to Quill.

"They're just living here? In this town? Why?"

He shrugged. "The majority of the people you'll see in this tower are people who've never dealt with magic or fought evil before." A thought must have come to mind, because he snorted. "Well, what am I saying? I've never done those things either."

I looked at him in surprise. "Then, why…?" I asked, pointing at Fair as I did.

He sighed. "I was like a lot of these people when I first arrived - content to wait, assuming that the Hero would fix things, as he always did. I even saw a few of the Heroes pass by, on their way to the upper floors. But weeks went by and nothing changed. And then I saw Fair."

"Can you believe he was the only one who listened to me?" she said, still pulling us ever closer to the center of town. I smirked at her remark, but kept my mouth closed.

"I knew of her - we're from the same time," Quill said, continuing his thought. "And I figured that, even if I had no powers of my own, I might at least be able to get others to listen to her. She is, after all, the only person who actually knows what's going on and why we're all here."

Fair let out a deep, dramatic breath. "I keep telling him I'll grant him whatever wish he wants, once I get my power back and we return to our time, in exchange for being the first person to help to me. But no, he keeps saying that he's only doing what's right and has no need of a reward. Who's ever heard of such a thing?"

The two eyed one another, an odd couple if ever there was one, as we approached the tallest building in town. Large letters reading "SALOON" hung above the entrance.

"Here we are, finally," Fair said, walking up the stairs of the building and swinging its wooden doors open as she strode inside. As Quill followed after her, something caught my attention to my left, in the dark shadows created by the next door building's awning. Movement of some sort. But try as I might, I couldn't identify what it was that I'd seen.

"Midna, are you coming?" Quill asked, drawing my gaze. I smiled and nodded, taking one last look toward my left before I followed him indoors.

The interior of this "saloon" was livelier than I expected, the atmosphere almost festive in nature. The tables were all packed with happily inebriated customers, loudly recounting their favorite tales of the Heroes to anyone who would listen. Some of them were even singing in the back, the Gorons' voices more melodic than I would have expected.

Except for one. He was completely tone deaf. And yet, no one seemed to even take notice.

"They all look rather content for having been trapped here for weeks," I said. Quill smiled.

"This is one of the few floors with alcohol. Once people find that out, they tend to stay for a while." How unsurprising.

Fair was up ahead, walking past all revelers and toward a staircase leading to the saloon's second floor. Quill and I continued in her direction, at least until I felt something...furry...brush against my leg.

"What was that?" I said, a little louder than I'd anticipated. I hopped backwards as I said it, accidently bumping into a Goron who proceeded to spill his drink all over the floor.

"What's going on over there?" someone said, their distinctly familiar voice booming over the noise in the room. It was only then that I looked down and caught a glimpse of what had shocked me - a white cat, looking a little perturbed by the ruckus I'd caused.

"Louise?" I said, kneeling down. She rubbed her head against the leg of a nearby table, before happily jumping onto my lap. Up ahead, I caught sight of someone coming around the corner of the bar.

"Just what do you think you're doing with my…" she started, before trailing off as I stood, holding a content Louise in my arms all the while.

"Hi, Telma," I said, not entirely sure if she'd remember who I was. Link had always been the one who communicated with her and the others in Castle Town, while I stayed in the shadows. I opened my mouth to speak again, only for her to rush me, practically suffocating Louise in the process.

"Midna, is that you?" she said, picking me up in a massive bear hug. Louise wormed her way out of that situation in a hurry, leaving me to gasp for air on my own.

I nodded, not having enough breath to form any audible reply. Satisfied, she returned me to the floor, only to have her attention quickly taken by my clothes.

"Is this what they wear in your realm?" she asked, tugging on the black and white design on my sleeve. "It's so odd looking."

"This is what I wear for sleeping," I said.

Telma smiled. "We were all brought here in our sleep. And you should be thankful you sleep in a tunic and trousers - some of the other men and women here weren't so lucky.

My eyes widened. I certainly hadn't considered _that _possibility. How horrifying.

Telma laughed. "Oh, everyone's been all right in the long run. Some of the other floors have clothes - strange ones, in some cases - but enough that everyone's decent." She picked Louise up off the floor and made her way around the bar.

"So, you're traveling with the two of them?" she asked, pointing toward Quill and Fair. Quill looked as if he was somewhat entertained by the interaction between me and Telma, while Fair was sitting halfway up the steps to the second floor, tapping her fingers against her face over and over again. What little patience she had was waning.

"Just trying to find a way to get us all back home." I said. Telma held up her index finger, an idea coming to mind, and then pointed at me.

"Have you not seen Link since..." she waved her hand back and forth, not sure what words to use.

"Since I closed the portal between our realms?" I asked, helping. Telma smiled.

"Yes," she said. "That, as you so eloquently described."

I nodded. "That's correct." A look overtook Telma's face when I said those words, an impish expression I'd put to use several times personally.

"Really?" she said, drawing the word out as she said it. "Well, he's somewhere up there. Fallen out of a few windows himself - a lot of the folks on the upper floors have. Saw him last - oh, a few weeks ago, I think." Her grin widened.

"I'm sure he'd be thrilled to set eyes on you again."

Whether it was Telma's words or her tone, I wasn't sure, but one of them grasped Fair's attention. She bounded down from the stairs and came right up to me, a sly look of her own on her face.

"Why, Midna," she said, "you didn't tell me there was something going on between you and your Link."

Ignoring both of them, I turned my attention to Quill. "So, the second floor of the saloon? Is that where we're going?" He smirked, while Telma and Fair both started snorting, trying to hold in their laughter.

"Yes, the doorway to the next floor is just above us."

Without giving another glance to the still-giggling Telma and Fair, I walked past them all, and had just put my foot on the first step up the stairs, when I heard a pop.

Freezing, I stopped and turned around. Quill was only a few steps behind me, but his eyes were wide. Then there were two more pops, followed by about a dozen, along with yells, all coming from outside. One of the Gorons yelled out.

"Everybody take shelter!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Are those the same things that shot you?" I asked Quill once we had both hunkered down next to the stairs.

"It's likely," he said, his gaze trained on the front door, prepared to move at a moment's notice.

The Gorons hadn't taken much notice of the situation, apparently impervious to the types of shots which had wounded Quill and too drunk to care what was happening. Still, they made adequate shields for the not-so-invulnerable humans and Hylians who hid behind them. Fair took shelter behind the bar, as safe a spot as there likely was, at least for the time being. Next to her, Telma grabbed something from beneath the counter, a long, slender object, wooden on one end, with two metal cylinders outstretched on the other.

"What is that?" I asked, not having seen anything like it before.

Quill sighed. "_That_ is a shotgun."

Outside, the pops had ceased, but yelling continued, coupled with a few screams here and there and the sounds of horses neighing. Telma, "shotgun" in hand, headed toward the front. Once outside, she began yelling almost immediately.

"You boys better leave them alone!"

A few male voices yelled back, their voices all running together, making it impossible for me to understand what they were saying. They'd scarcely stopped talking when I heard two clicks, followed by a noise which sounded less like a pop and more like a small boom.

"And that was Telma's shotgun." Quill said, causing my eyes to grow wide.

"Leave! Or, I'll actually aim for one of you next time!" Telma said, ever the force to be reckoned with. The male voices yelled back, mixed with the sounds of horses' hoofbeats. A few more pops sounded, and a yell or two was let out, before the sounds of the boys and their horses began to fade, distancing themselves from the saloon.

The Hylians and humans began cheering as soon as Telma reentered the saloon, and the Gorons offered up a few slurred congratulations. Telma, meanwhile, looked quite serious, muttering to herself all the way to the bar. She slid the shotgun back underneath the counter, and stood there for a moment, her hand on her hip, looking as if she was evaluating, strategizing...something.

Then her eyes met mine, and she looked as if she had an idea.

"Uh oh," I said, under my breath. Quill cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Midna!" Telma said, her countenance taking a troubling turn from severe to almost bubbly as she approached me. She placed her hands on my shoulders. "You're scary."

"And you're not the best at giving out compliments," I said. She threw her head back and laughed. I eyed Quill as Telma attempted to catch her breath amidst all the cackling. His eyes were trained on her, waiting for what she'd say next.

Telma wiped a few tears from her eyes, before continuing. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"No! No favors!" Fair said, forcing herself between me and Telma.

"The commotion has already delayed our reaching the next floor," Quill said, checking a clock behind the bar. "Spending more time here wouldn't be advisable."

Telma crossed her arms, and glanced from Quill to Fair. "A lot of characters come through this bar on their way back up, you know. I've heard things…"

Fair took a step back, giving her a better view of Telma's face.

"What things?" she asked. Telma grinned and began twirling an imaginary thread around her finger.

"Things from people who've made it far, to the thirtieth floor, at least."

Fair's eyes grew wide. "What things?" she asked again, her voice desperate.

Telma smiled wide. "I've heard talk of a shortcut."

Fair's head whipped up toward Quill, who shrugged wearily in response. Seeing no resistance from him, Fair turned to me. She pointed toward Telma.

"Midna, do whatever favor Telma wants you to do."

My mouth fell open. "Are you serious?"

Telma stepped around Fair, looking plenty pleased with herself, and put her arm around my shoulders. "Now, now, Midna. It's only the smallest of favors. A short detour - a few hours at most. I'll even make sure your friend's wound is properly seen to while you're gone." I frowned.

"You mean, you two wouldn't be coming with me?" I said, pointing toward Quill and Fair.

Fair rolled her eyes. "You saw what happened last time Quill and I went up against guns. But with your portals," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "you wouldn't have any trouble at all."

Sighing, I looked toward Telma. "What do you want me to do?"

She squeezed my shoulder, happy to see me more or less compliant. "A gang of four teenage boys has been terrorizing the town this past week. What was it they called themselves?"

"The Killer Bees!" one of the Hylians called over. Telma motioned toward him.

"Yes, them. Although, I've only ever called them hellions."

Quill huffed, drawing my attention.

"You know them?" I asked. He nodded, and sat down.

"They're from my realm. Even when they were boys, they were out of control, causing trouble for the people in their hometown."

"Well, now they're causing trouble here," Telma said, interjecting. "And I need someone to put them in their place. Put the fear of the gods in them, so to speak. The people here," she said, looking over her shoulder toward the rest of the room, "they aren't the fighting sort. They'd never make an impression on those boys. But you, from what I've heard about your time in Hyrule? You were not one to be trifled with."

I didn't like this. I didn't like the thought of facing multiple foes by myself, all of them armed with weapons I'd never encountered before. It was a bad idea. But the thought of leaving the people here, drunk as they were, undefended, didn't sit well with me either. I shifted from foot to foot, evaluating the situation, the floorboards creaking beneath me as I moved.

Then, a thought came to mind. If faced with the same situation, what would Link do?

"Fine," I said, cursing his heroism as the word crossed my lips. "Where are they?"

Telma pointed west, toward the town's entrance. "Head toward the doors to the first floor. Then, just keep walking. You'll find a canyon eventually. Their hideout is there."

I motioned toward the bar. "I'll need a bottle of water first."

Nodding, Telma grabbed one from beneath the bar, handing it to me with wide smile on her face. "Try to bring them back here, once you're done with them, if you can," she said. "I'm sure the townspeople would love to give them a piece of their mind."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," I muttered, downing half the bottle as I walked toward the front doors. As I exited the saloon, I heard Fair call out.

"You're the best, Midna!"

I kept muttering as I walked down the dusty town road, waiting until I was outside of the town's limits to create a portal. The last thing I needed to deal with was some drunken Goron stumbling through the portal as well. The townspeople were more agitated than they'd been when Quill, Fair and I arrived earlier, angrily recounting the boys' words and assessing the damage caused by their guns.

What a nuisance. And not just the so-called "Killer Bees". But this entire situation. The situation Tingle put us all in.

At the very least, it strengthened my resolve to find the boys. Because, the quicker I found them, the quicker Quill, Fair and I could move on.

The sun had lowered in the sky somewhat as I reached the town's limits, stretching the shadows further toward the east. As I passed the storefront with the collapsed roof I'd seen earlier, I glanced inside, searching for any sign of whatever oddity it was I'd seen before.

But nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Shrugging, I looked around me, ensuring no one had followed me out, and then formed a portal. It could only take me as far as the first floor doors - but that would have to do.

I stepped through, and closed portal behind me as soon as I had exited. The green doors were there, right next to me, the town behind me, and the canyon - I supposed - somewhere in front of me. I couldn't see any sign of it on the horizon, and had to hope that the directions Telma had given me would be accurate.

It was quiet out there, without the sound of Quill's conversation or Fair's exasperation. Only the wind, and my own footsteps, and…

Well, what was _that_? Something, underneath the sound of everything else. A hum, so low my ears had to strain to hear it. I stopped and looked around, searching for its source, but found nothing. Only sand, and the town far off in the distance.

Then, I looked down.

And saw, within the silhouette of my own shadow, a dark, inky substance moving within.

"Oh, no you don't…" I said, forming a mirror portal and reflecting the sun's rays onto my shadow, extinguishing it instantly. I heard a scream, followed quickly by something, humanoid in appearance, popping up from the ground. Whatever it was fell in a heap before me.

"What are you?" I asked, closing the portal. The...thing...sat up, rubbing his eyes, and I stared, mouth agape, trying to comprehend what I was seeing.

Because he looked like Link.

Albeit, a really dark, very evil version of Link.

He grinned, his skin crinkling around his red-irised eyes. "Well, this is a little awkward, isn't it?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying, yet again, to wrap my mind around the situation I was in. "Again," I said, "what are you?"

He shook his head and stood up, dusting the sand off his clothes as he did so. "Really, wouldn't '_who _are you' be more appropriate? I am a person, after all. You can call me Shadow."

"You're a person?" I asked, crossing my arms. He tilted his head back and forth, smirking as he did so.

"I guess that depends on how fluid your definition of 'person' is. But I eat, sleep, breathe and even bathe on occasion, if that does anything in my favor," he said, chuckling as he spoke. His smile soon faded when he saw me turn and walk away. I had a job to do, and couldn't let another distraction stop me from doing it.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked, catching up with me. "You walk fast, you know that? Even when I was hanging out in your shadow, I had some difficulties keeping up. And that ride through the portal - wow, that was something else." I'd always been a fast walker, but it was getting a little difficult at the present moment - sand had been slowly accumulating in the bottoms of my shoes since I'd arrived on this floor, and my feet were beginning to complain. I did my best to ignore their protests.

"Just what were you doing in my shadow?" I asked, wanting to know how much trouble he was going to be and whether I needed to open up a portal underneath him and drop him between dimensions for a while.

He shrugged. "Eh, I'm not sure. I haven't ever met anyone who looked like me, but you're about as close as I've found so far. I figured that if I hung around, I might learn something interesting."

"You couldn't just ask me? Face to face?" I asked.

He grinned. "Yeah, the townspeople aren't too fond of me. I have a bit of a reputation."

I eyed him as we walked. "A reputation for what?"

"For fighting Link at any and every opportunity." He puffed up his chest as he spoke, as if he was proud of what he was saying. I slapped in him the stomach. It took him a few moments to recover.

"What was that for?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Why would you want to fight Link? Doesn't he have enough to deal with?" I asked, remembering a few of the obstacles the two of us had faced while I was in Hyrule.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, poor Link. Poor, beleaguered Link." He snorted. "If you ask me, he has a messiah complex."

"It's not a messiah complex if he actually succeeds in saving the world," I muttered.

He raised his hands in the air. "We'll agree to disagree, how's that?"

"Yeah, whatever." I looked back, over my shoulder. The town had disappeared on the horizon, and the green doors were growing ever smaller. Still, as I looked ahead, I couldn't see anything that looked canyon-like in front of me. Weariness - partly from the walking and the sand-filled shoes, and partly from having been woken up and thrust into this madhouse - was setting in. I took out the half-filled bottle of water and drank, hoping it would help. When I brought the bottle down, I caught Shadow's gaze, still trained on me.

"What?"

"I told you, I wanted to see if I learned anything interesting."

"Well, I'm not very fond of the idea of spending time with an enemy of Link's."

He grinned, his expression patronizing. "Oh, dear Midna," he said, chuckling. He ran ahead a few feet and then turned, facing me, and began walking backwards. He had a lot of energy, that was for certain. "What have you been told about this tower?"

I sighed. "I don't know. Tingle stole Fair's power, and everyone here is confused because there are multiple Links and Zeldas and no one seems to be making much progress in rectifying the problem." Shadow's brow raised as I spoke, and he pointed at me once I finished.

"Yes, let's focus on that middle part."

"What?" I asked, frowning. "The 'everyone is confused' part?"

He smiled. "Yes. Because it isn't just the multiples that are causing confusion. It's because, here, the traditional ideas of good and evil aren't concrete like they are back home. And that causes problems."

With the pain in my feet ever increasing, I finally paused to empty the sand from my shoes. Shadow held his hand out to help steady me as I balanced on one foot, but I ignored the gesture. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Shadow crouched down. "Back home, villains work with other villains. They band together. And then, when Link comes on the scene, all of the other do-gooders come to his aid. The two sides fight, Link is victorious, blah, blah, blah."

"But not here?" I asked, doing my best to concentrate while still forcing the tiny grains of sand from the folds of my shoes.

"Not here," Shadow said. "For the first few weeks we were here, of course, there were the conflicts you'd expect between the heroes and the villains. But, as more and more people were brought to the tower and stuffed into close quarters, things began to shift. Arguments began breaking out between villains, the heroes began grating one another. And then all hell broke loose when Cremia and Ghirahim stopped Rauru from strangling Old Man Ho Ho."

"I know who none of those people are." I said, glancing at him as I put my shoes back on. He smirked.

"It was a mess, that's all you need to know. But, after that point, the line between heroes and villains began to blur. Life became less about sticking to your allegiances back home, and more about just finding some people who didn't make you want to kill yourself."

I snorted, and began walking forward again. "So, was that long explanation just an attempt to convince me to let you tag along, even though you're an enemy of Link's?" He smiled wide.

"Only partially - it would be better if you knew what you were getting yourself into, don't you think?"

He did have a point there.

"And besides," he said, continuing. "You need me."

I rolled my eyes. "How so?"

He looked over his shoulder and all around us, making a dramatic show of his search. "Just where are your other allies?" he asked.

"Fair's no good in a fight and Quill's injured," I said with a grimace, knowing where this conversation was headed. Shadow smiled knowingly.

"While I'm sure you'd be able to take care of the Killer Bees on your own, wouldn't it be advantageous to have someone capable watching your back?"

"As if I'd trust you to watch my back." I said, under my breath.

Shadow tapped his mouth. "We share the same goals, you know. Escaping the tower. Beating Tingle to a pulp. I can even put aside my hatred of Link for a while, if it would make you feel better."

"Why?" I asked. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"You've made your case for why having you around would be advantageous for me. But what does it get you?"

He grinned. "Did you miss the 'beating Tingle to a pulp' part? That's a big draw. And besides, you and Quill are well-known good guys. If I travel around with you, maybe I could come out of the shadows and actually walk amongst civilization for a while." He paused for a moment, looking out toward the horizon. There, for the first time, I could make out what looked like the edge of what must have been the canyon.

"How about a practice run?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. "We go in there, deal with the Killer Bees. You see how useful I can be. And then you decide whether or not you want me around."

I was moments from giving some sarcastic response, when I took a step forward.

And the ground gave out from underneath me.

I didn't even have time to yell, before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first sensation I noticed was the pounding in my head.

For the second time in recent memory.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a less than promising position. Tied to a chair. My hands, unfortunately, secured behind me.

Terrific.

The red walls of the canyon towered over me, looming over a dry riverbed. The sun peered over in the west, casting long shadows near the canyon's walls. In that darkness, there was a curious assortment of stuff. Boxes of food supplies and jars of water were plentiful, but so were piles of treasure and many, _many _chests of various sizes, scattered everywhere and stacked high. To my right were a pile of guns, some like Telma's, some bigger or smaller in size. That was worrisome.

I shifted in my chair, trying to wriggle out of the ropes I'd been tied with. They held me tight, leaving me unable to form a portal and escape. Growing frustrated, I rocked the chair back and forth, hoping I could convince it to break. Instead, I only succeeded in toppling over, hurting my shoulder in the process.

"Owww…" I muttered, not pleased with the turn of events.

"Look at this situation you've gotten yourself into," I heard an irritatingly familiar voice say. "Really, I expected better."

"Shadow," I whispered, the rocks on the ground scraping against my face as I spoke. "Where are you?"

On the other side of the lakebed, I caught sight of that swirling darkness from before. Shadow's head popped up from the ground, his expression as mischievous as ever.

"What are you doing over there?" I asked, hardly able to contain my annoyance. "Come untie me."

He shook his head, smiling all the while. "There's too much sunlight over there. I'd have to come out of hiding to free you."

"So?"

"So, they'd see me," he said, glancing left, toward the west.

Frowning, I followed his gaze, tilting my head back on the ground in an attempt to see. But all I saw were rocks and more chests. "I don't see anyone."

"Oh, they're coming," he replied. He turned his head to the east, where the floor of the canyon jutted several stories up, and then looked up toward the sky. His brow raised, his red eyes growing bright.

"Don't move. Don't cause trouble. I'll be back in a moment."

Before I could speak a word of protest, he disappeared. "Shadow?" I said, anxiety setting in. "Shadow, you come back here. Now. Don't you leave me like this."

But there was no answer.

Just silence.

With all my patience gone, I began to thrash. Side to side, up and down. My shoulder didn't appreciate the movement, but I didn't care. I yelled, let out a few profanities in my native Twili. There were few experiences in my life wherein I remembered being so angry and frustrated and tired, all at the same time. But this was one.

"Woah, I think she's awake."

I stopped moving at once, listening for the direction the voice had come from. It was higher pitched than Shadow's, one I hadn't heard since being trapped in the tower. From the same direction Shadow had looked moments earlier, I heard footsteps, several sets of them, headed in my direction. Slowly, they came into view.

It was the four boys. The hellions, as Telma called them. They looked the part.

One of the four was the leader, that much was clear. The blonde one with the crooked grin and red hat. He held his head high, a confident smile on his face. While he swaggered forward, the other three followed behind, watching him to see what he'd do next.

The leader crouched down in front of me. "How nice of you to fall into one of our traps like that. Mind telling us just what you're doing out here?" As he spoke, he brushed away some of the hair from my face.

I tried to bite him.

He backed up.

"Don't touch me," I said, trying to sound as imposing as possible. Another one of the boys, with spiky brown hair and narrow eyes, placed his hand on the leader's shoulder. He whispered something, eyeing me all the while, his expression cautious. The leader waved away whatever the boy said and approached me again.

"Well, aren't you a fighter?" He placed his hand on my arm, grinning impishly as he brought his face close. "I can appreciate that."

I headbutted his face.

The boy let out some sort of squeal and fell backwards. "Why would you do that?" he cried as blood began to spurt from his nose. Another one of the boys, this one with longer blue hair, came to the leader's aid, handing him a handkerchief to stop the bleeding. The boy in the back, meanwhile, the one with the larger nose, smirked at the whole scene.

"I did tell you to stay away from her, Ivan," the boy with the narrow eyes said, not looking too concerned over his leader's current state.

Ivan stuffed the handkerchief up one of his nostrils and tried to look serious, despite the tears that had formed in his eyes. "I won't make that mistake again." He pushed himself up off the ground and headed for the pile of guns nearby. My heart sank as he took one from the top, small, with gleaming metal. I saw the blue haired boy's eyes grow wide.

"You're not going to shoot her, are you boss?"

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Think of this as incentive, Jan." Ivan took the top of my chair and swung it upward, setting me right-side up.

"See, I've heard of you," he said, keeping the gun pointed at me as he spoke. "I heard Telma talk about you the first week we were here. A girl with gray skin and orange hair. A girl who could transport people from one place to another in an instant." He narrowed his eyes. "That sounds like a skill we could use."

"Use for what?" I said, growing more exasperated the longer he kept talking. "For terrorizing people in town?"

Ivan shrugged, smirking. "Sure. We come in, take whatever we feel like, revel in whatever we get."

"Why?" I asked.

Ivan threw his head back and laughed. "Why? Why not? What else are we supposed to do here? There are no laws here, no consequences for our actions. For the first time in our lives, we can do whatever we want." He brought his head down so we were on eye level, but was careful to keep the gun between the two of us. A devilish smile came to his face. "And right now, I feel like terrorizing some townspeople."

"I'd think twice about that, you enfant terrible."

The four boys spun around just as Shadow materialized behind them, looking as self-assured as ever. What a melodramatic sense of timing he had.

"Where did he come from?" Ivan yelled, as if the other boys would have any better idea than he.

"Look at him, Boss," Jan said, bringing his hand to his mouth. "He looks like Link."

Shadow cocked an eyebrow, obviously not pleased with the comparison. "Well, I'm not Link, you little brats."

Ivan pointed his gun at Shadow. "I don't really care what you are. You're annoying me. And if you don't leave in the next three seconds, I'll shoot you."

Shadow smirked. "Oh, I'd think twice about that." He extended his hand, revealing for the first time a small, blue object, no larger than the size of his fist. "You boys have any idea what this is?"

The boys looked at one another, speechless for a few seconds. "We don't care what it is," Ivan huffed. "All we care about is you leaving," Shadow ticked his finger back and forth.

"Now, now, I wouldn't act rashly. Because this object you see before you, it's an object of immense power. Far stronger than any gun you possess."

The boy with the narrow eyes leaned toward Ivan, whispering in his ear. As he spoke, a grin came to Ivan's face.

"You're bluffing. That's just a flute, isn't it? Are you going to serenade us to death?"

The smile on Shadow's face widened as he neared the object to his mouth. "Oh, it's not a flute. And whether or not you die depends greatly on your ability to swim."

The grin on Ivan's face lessened. "Swim?" he asked, just as Shadow began to play.

It was a strange melody, dark and theatrical. Fitting, considering who was playing the song. But, stranger than the tune itself, was the volume of sound produced by an instrument that small. As Shadow continued to play, it seemed as if it wasn't just his instrument I heard, but several. Organs and accordions all in harmony with one another. The song stretched far, around us and up into the sky. The boys watched, unmoving, as Shadow played, their eyes darting for any sign of danger. When the song ended, it felt as if everyone, the four boys and myself, was holding their breath.

Seconds passed.

And nothing happened.

All four boys started laughing at once, tears even coming to a few of their eyes. "Well, we appreciate the show, really. We've been in need of some entertainment," Ivan said. He took a few steps toward Shadow, gun still in hand. "But, it's time for you to go."

Shadow, however, seemed unperturbed. Excited, even. He pointed up toward the sky. Which, I noticed in that moment, looked darker than I remembered.

And in an instant, we were hit by a deluge of rain.

The water pounded on me, the force of its weight so heavy I could hardly lift my head. Although I couldn't see the boys, I could hear them, yelling at one another, none of their words making much sense. To be fair, I wasn't sure how to make sense of the situation either.

"How'd you like to get out of that chair?" I heard Shadow say. He was beside me a moment later, his hair and clothes a sopping mess.

"It's about time."

He smirked and cut the ropes holding me in place. My arms stung where they'd been restrained, but I was so happy to have them free I didn't care. I stood and took my first few steps forward, wading through the flowing water that had already risen to my knees. The rain was starting to subside, which was just as well. Any more water might have been a problem.

Just then, there was a noise, a massive crack that drew our attention. Shadow let out an expletive.

"What was that?" I yelled.

"I think it might have been the levee," he said, his face growing pale.

"Levee?" I asked, horror setting in. "What levee?" As I spoke, an avalanche of water shot over the ledge east of us, barreling directly for us.


End file.
